Sometimes you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince.

That was certainly the case for 26-year-old Jenny Deonarain, who pursued a number of different paths before discovering her passion for fashion.

“I was always artistic and thought that being an architect was the most prestigious career I could do. But after completing the first year of an architecture degree, I realised it wasn’t me.”

A switch to Massey and a semester studying fine arts followed, but having been exposed to the fashion faculty, Jenny switched allegiance to the four year fashion degree.

“Up until that time, I hadn’t really realised that you could make fashion a career. I’d always loved sewing but it was more of a hobby.”

Having been awarded 1st class honours, her marks were high enough to win her a Massey Scholarship Award, which is given to the top five percent of design faculty students. It financed her Masters year, which she completed in May 2008.

“I knew I wasn’t a nine-to-five kind of girl, and nor did I want to work for another designer, so the only thing for it was to start my own business.”

Jenny’s initial impulse was to work in women’s designer clothing but she realized quite quickly that market was saturated; the key was to find and exploit a niche that no-one else was doing.

“I spent a long time researching the market and reading up on how to run a business. I also attended every business course I could find, which is how I stumbled across Grow Wellington’s intensive four-month incubator programme, Activate.”

“I had a fantastic mentor, Tui TeHau, who worked closely with me to refine what I wanted to focus on.”
That turned out to be high-quality, tasteful fantasy lingerie. She named the company ‘Leave the Lights On’.

“I wanted to provide couples with something that’s halfway between designer underwear and adult costumes, but without the sleazy aspect and using high quality fabrics and finishings.”

Jenny also credits Activate with helping her to develop a business plan, demystify issues such as finance, distribution, sales and marketing, and launch her on her way.

“I’m currently at the sample stage, getting a small run of products developed. And am setting up the online store. It’s been a lot of work but very exciting and I’m aiming to launch in February in time for Valentine’s Day.”

So does she have any advice for other designers about to launch into the sometimes murky waters of self-employment?

“I’d counsel people not to get discouraged by those who aren’t enthusiastic about your idea. Just listen to people who’ve run businesses and know what they talking about…”